Canterlot: Her Creation and Her Architects
by v.ren55
Summary: In the aftermath of Princess Luna's transformation into Nightmare Moon, the former capital of Equestria, the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters has been destroyed. Princess Celestia calls for architects across Equestria, this is how Canterlot was built. If you like this story, please like on fimfiction.
1. Prologue

Chapter: Prologue: The Great Gathering

_The Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters…_

In bygone times, the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters had been a fortress, a haven, a place of celebration, and a home. Its great towers and spires had soared into the sky. Its walls had sheltered inhabitants from the weather and danger, halls had echoed with laughter and chatter. The furnishings of the castle had been elaborate, elegant and illuminated the glory of the structure. Tapestries had hung across alcoves and chambers, statues of great Equestrians had been placed at every corner and paintings had graced everyponies eyes.

All that had changed since the imprisonment of Princess Luna.

The once formidable castle now barely possessed a wall to defend itself with and her splendid magnificence was now burnt away by the war. The comfortable haven had no roofs to block the rain. The home that was filled with so many good memories was now scarred by new and unpleasant recollections. The Everfree Forest, once the delightful, beautiful green backdrop for the castle, was now a refuge of monsters and a place feared by most ponies.

A white figure trotted through the ruins of the castle. The echoes of her hooves rang through the castle walls. Her normally shifting mane, pink like the rising sun was lifeless, its colours faded. Her great white wings that used to strike awe into all were now lifeless.

Princess Celestia, former co-ruler of Equestria and keeper of the sun, now sole ruler of Equestria and guardian of the sun and moon, raised her head to see the round deactivated shells of the Elements of Harmony.

It had only been two days ago that she used them to imprison her sister to the moon. Since then they had grown dormant. Now Celestia stood in front of them, her eyes dry. The alicorn felt like crying, but was unable to shed any tears. Her only sister was now lost to her.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the approach of another pony. He was a turquoise unicorn stallion with a greying blue mane, a golden triangle was emblazoned on his flank.

"Milady, given the extent of the damage to the castle, it will take an estimated ten years to repair the structure and another five years to furnish it," spoke the pony.

"DUKE GOLDEN TRIANGLE, WHY DOST THOU INTERRUPT OUR MOURNING!" roared Celestia in Royal Canterlot. The old pony stood his ground against the verbal onslaught that was filled with anger just as it was filled with grief.

"Equestria cannot continue without a capital, we need to either restore this castle or build a new one," said Golden Triangle calmly. Although it seemed like the pony's comment had no effect on the Pegasus-unicorn at first sight, a close observer would notice Celestia's frame tense up and her wings fluttered slightly.

"Duke, how many years are needed to build a new castle?" asked the alicorn. The teal stallion bit the inside of his lip and tapped his left rear hoof anxiously as Celestia's pink gaze settled onto him.

"We do not know how long it will take to build a new castle milady. It shall depend on the design," replied Golden Triangle. Celestia nodded and glanced at the moon for a short moment. Shortly after that she turned her gaze back onto Golden Triangle.

"This task is too great for even your abilities, Royal Architect of Equestria. Thou shall need help in this endeavour. We shall gather some of the greatest minds and artists in Equestria and from them we shall choose a team that would build the new capital," declared Celestia.

Golden Triangle nodded and knelt. While he was glad that he would not be taking on this burden by himself, the stallion knew the problems of gathering so many conflicting minds. Despite this fact, the old architect could was glad that his sovereign was closer to her old self and that he was once again, back to work.

"Thy wish is thy command Princess!" declared the unicorn.

The Princess nodded, satisfaction etched on her graceful features.

"Then listen to our request: You shall declare a gathering to take place at the foot of the mount Canter. All ponies of the arts and construction are invited to attend. Announce that the gathering will be a display of arts and that there will be prizes," said Celestia. Golden Triangle nodded dutifully as he noted everything down in his head.

"And how is this gathering related to how thou shall choose the group milady?" asked the unicorn. To the duke's unease, Celestia cryptically smiled.

"I shall choose. That is all thou needs to know. Now go forth Royal Architect!" ordered Celestia. With that Golden Triangle nodded and galloped off.


	2. Meet the Great Minds of Canterlot Part 1

_Clopchester, a year before The Great Gathering..._

Baron Byzas could hear the pounding of the mob on the door of his home. Although the sandstone-red stallion had barricaded the entrance with as much furniture as he could move, he knew that the mob would eventually break in.

"Why couldn't Luna give me a few more nights?" groaned Byzas. His thought was punctuated with another sharp 'crack'. Slowly trotting to the window, the earth pony peeked outside.

His entire body and cutie mark of a crossed paintbrush and ruler was immediately illuminated by the torches carried by the great crowd of ponies that had surrounded the stout keep that was his home. They were holstering a battering ram and were slamming it against the door. As he quietly watched the ponies attack his home, the baron tried to block out the slogans they were chanting.

"Lover of Night!"

"Sun hater!"

"Down with traitor!"

"Kill him!"

Unable to bring himself to watch the spectacle any longer, Byzas turned his byzantium eyes away from the mob. Quickly retreating from the window, the stallion began to walk through the halls of his home. The pony doubted he would see them again.

Boom

Byzas arrived in the entrance hall of his keep and trotted up to a pile of paintings. They had been carefully stacked, one upon the other. Each of them were masterpieces of art, each brush stroke delicate, each of them had colours perfectly balanced. There were night skies, sunny skies, fields and towns, and castles.

Boom

It had been Byzas's skill that had attracted the attention of her esteemed highness, Princess Luna, who had become his patron. Soon after, he was granted the title of a baron and appeared as part of the night court.

Boom

No matter now, the Night Court had been dissolved. Though Byzas himself and many others didn't directly support Princess Luna, nopony trusted them anymore. Many of the Night Court's members had sworn allegiance to Celestia and the Day Court. More had gone into hiding, from fear of the mob or from fear of Celestia's wrath.

Crack, CRASH

Ponies poured into the keep, and into the hall. They stopped the moment they noticed Byzas standing in front of them, unarmed and his face etched with fear.

"I'llneverletyoutakemealive!BaronByzas,!" yelled Byzas. He was about to drop the oil lamp when he was interrupted.

"Say what? You speak too fast!" yelled the ponies.

"!" stammered the stallion. The ponies stared at him, their expressions varied from outright confusion to disbelief. Byzas had spoken so quickly he had been totally illegible. The pony had meant to make the line sound epic, but as usual, he had spoken too fast so it had come out completely garbled.

"Just get the bloody speedtalker!" yelled somepony.

Not waiting for the mob to get him, Byzas finally dropped the oil lamp he had been holding onto the stack of paintings. Immediately they lit up and set fire to the wooden floorboards. Within seconds, the entire entrance hall was alight and blazing. The mob now stood outside, deprived of the focus of their anger and watching as the building went up.

What they didn't know was that their target had slipped through the clutches.

Byzas coughed as he made his way through his home. Smoke was beginning to clog the ceiling and the stallion needed to make his escape. The pony reached the doors to his cellar, which were already open. Quickly jumping in, he closed the heavy oaken barriers behind him and dashed down the staircase.

Though it was dark, Byzas had rehearsed the route many times and effortlessly galloped down the stairs. Soon he reached the bottom and found his heavy saddlebags. Quickly, he checked that his bulging sketchbook, his bits, and his arts material were inside. Then, with a neigh to nobody in particular, the red-sandstone stallion galloped off down a dark tunnel, to the light.

_Cloud Castle by Cloudsdale, 9 months before The Great Gathering..._

Pegasus cloud castles can only been built if the pegasi in question has obtained a Royal Writ. This Royal Writ can only be gained if one pony has connections, or lots and lots of bits.

Lady Vaultaire had had a royal connection that she used to build her cloud castle. Compared to other Pegasi cloud castles, hers wasn't large. In terms of the 'Equine' system of measurement, the standard unit being the Equine, the height of an average pony's shoulder, Vaultaire's castle was about about forty equines long and wide and about twenty equines high. Shaped like a doughnut, the structure had an inner courtyard with a pavilion constructed of cloud. The outer 'doughnut' was composed of many arched vaults that were supported by more flying buttresses, which served an aesthetic and structural purpose. Each vault was made of the heaviest cloud material, giving the castle stability and privacy. For light to enter into the house, tall stained glass windows were placed on the walls of each of the vaults. The result was a building that resembled more of a library than a castle.

Right now, the sunflower yellow mare that owned the castle was reclining on a cloud sofa inside her cloud pavilion, unsealing a scroll with the Royal Seal stamped on it. As her dark green eyes scanned the letter, Vaultaire paused to push a curl of her scarlet mane out of the way. When she had finished the letter, the pegasus mare placed it carefully on her sofa.

And then, she proceeded to rip it to pieces, dig a hole in the cloud sofa and stick the remains of the poor piece of parchment into it. After she had buried the hole, the young Pegasus took a nearby jug and poured some Rainbow-Cider into her goblet. The cider was a powerful, hard, pegasi alcohol that warmed the wingtips in any weather,

"Celestia, if you HONESTLY think that I will just forget the fact you threw me out of the Day Court after I suggested we should negotiate with Princess Luna and accompany you to this 'Gathering of Artists' and not tell me the reason why, then you're more mad than I thought you were!" stated Vaultaire to nopony in particular.

"I did not thinkest thou will just forgive and forget us," spoke a voice.

Normally, most ponies would just freeze and then prostrate themselves if they saw a white alicorn with the power to move the sun, hovering next to them. Vaultaire didn't. The pegasus had too much pride for that and the Princess had quite recently insulted her. She wanted to bug Celestia as much as possible.

"Your highness, to what do I owe thee the pleasure?" replied Vaultaire evenly. Celestia seated herself so that her greyish-magenta eyes stared directly at Vaultaire's green ones.

"We expected that our letter would not be satisfactory. So we came in person to ask thou to accompany us…And to explain the reason why we request thy presence," explained the alicorn.

The Pegasus's initial reaction was to be overjoyed that her sovereign, and sometimes friend, would hold her in such high regard. However, she stuffed that emotion back down her throat and narrowed her eyes instead.

"Celestia, why should I accept your proposal when you banished me from your Day Court?" demanded Vaultaire.

"We did not banish you. We asked thee to politely take a leave of absence," said Celestia in clarification. Although the Pegasus knew Celestia was right, Vaultaire was undaunted and pressed onward.

"That's practically the same thing. I read past your mask, that wasn't a request," retorted Vaultaire.

"I gave you that order for your own safety my friend," said Celestia. The Pegasus stopped for a moment, her mind giving a mental gasp.

First of all, Vaultaire had had time to reflect on why would Celestia 'banish' her and had realized that her sovereign's action had saved her reputation. Vaultaire was very aware that without Celestia's intervention, the pegasus would have undoubtedly ended up like the members of the former Night Court.

Additionally, Celestia had just referred herself by 'I' instead of the Royal 'We'. Something she very rarely did. This cue revealed to Vaultaire that the normally stern alicorn's mask was beginning to crack. This also told Vaultaire that the Princess was becoming more insistent and that she really desired pegasus's help.

At the same time, Vaultaire couldn't help, but remember the whispers and the giggles of the other nobleponies as she had left the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. It had been a brutal reminder of her childhood as the daughter of a decrepit noble family. Vaultaire had confided this memory with Celestia during one of their conversations. At the moment Celestia had 'banished her' the yellow pegasus had felt utterly betrayed. If Celestia was truly her friend, and truly understood Vaultaire's past, the alicorn wouldn't have told her to leave!

Vaultaire's teeth ground against each other in frustration. Her mind was caught in a mental tug of war and the Pegasus hated mental tug of wars.

"You saved my reputation and betrayed me at the same time," said Vaultaire bluntly. The alicorn shifted uncomfortably and her response was hesitant and halting.

"I did what I thought was best at the time... I haven't been the best of friends lately... actually I never have been...This wasn't the first time I did something so inconsiderate of your feelings."

Celestia paused.

"Vaultaire, you may not be able to trust me in light of recent events, but I really need your help because I trust you.

The pegasus examined Celestia warily. Then, with a sigh, she gave her response.

"I'll help you."

Vaultaire would help Celestia. Their friendship...would need some work, but what better way to fix it by working together? Celestia had always had the pegasus's best interests at heart and Vaultaire was keenly aware of it. And Vaultaire really wanted to restore the friendship between herself and Celestia.

The alicorn gave a sigh a relief at Vaultaire's response. It wasn't a massive sigh of relief, but it still looked as if a massive weight had been lifted off Celestia's chest and all the anxiety that had been built up had been suddenly released.

"Thank you my friend. I had hoped you would help me on this mission," said Celestia, smiling. Vaultaire smiled back and gestured if the Princess would like some Rainbow cider. Celestia conjured a goblet of her own and poured herself a cup of the drink.

"So what do you need my help for?" inquired Vaultaire. Celestia raised herself from her drinking vessel and licked her lips for a moment, savouring the cider.

"The Great Gathering of Artists is being organised for one reason that only I and a few of my advisors know of. It is so that I will be able to choose a group of ponies to design and oversee the construction of a new capitol," explained Celestia.

"I suspected as much. Will the old geezer Golden Triangle be there?"asked Vaultaire. Celestia frowned, mock disapproval plastered on her face.

"Old he may be, but geezer he is not. He shall be there. However, he will not be directly in charge of choosing the candidates, you and I will be."

Vaultaire tugged at one of her red curls, something she often did when she was confused.

"Sorry Celestia, but how will I be able to help you? How are we choosing?"

Celestia gestured to Vaultaire's cutie mark of a drafting compass, divider and a wooden template known as a French curve.

"You are an architect and interior designer are you not? Many of the furnishings you have designed were highly successful and most of your projects show ingenuity and beauty that defies the expectations of your critics. During the gathering, we will be accessing other artwork and structures and your judgment will be invaluable. Additionally, I need somepony who will provide an alternate perspective and I value your judgment greatly."

Vaultaire was flattered, but the mare still had one question.

"You haven't told me how exactly we shall be choosing," said Vaultaire. At that moment, Celestia replicated the cryptic smile she had given Golden Triangle, though the Pegasus had no idea of that. Vaultaire's reaction was to copy Celestia's smile. The two burst out in a small fit of laughter as they shared the inside joke.

"I will elaborate on that later my friend. For now, content yourself with the fact that you are already on the group that will be constructing the new capital," announced Celestia as she lifted off. The Pegasus nodded and bowed until her sovereign was out of sight.

Immediately after Vaultaire was sure Celestia was nowhere near, she jumped into the air with a mighty leap yelling at the top of her lungs.

"YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES!"

The Pegasus architect and designer could scarcely believe her ears. She was going to be designing the new capital of Equestria! A structure and monument that would last for Celestia knows how long. Her stoical face gone, the Pegasus raced to her drafting table, leaving a yellow-red streak in the air.

She had a lot of planning and drawing to do.

As Celestia flew back to her undoubtedly worried advisors, she couldn't help breathing another sigh of relief. The alicorn was truly thankful that Vaultaire was assisting her and that they had resolved their argument. Not only was Vaultaire totally dependable and skilled, Celestia saw the pegasus as the one pony who wouldn't think twice about criticizing her. Moreover, since Luna's banishment, Vaultaire was now possibly, Celestia's only true friend.


	3. Meet the Great Minds of Canterlot Part 2

_Stalliongrad, 6 months before The Great Gathering…_

Across a checkered board, armored pegasi knights, unicorn mages and earth pony soldiers faced off. Each of them had perfectly stoical expressions on their faces. High above them were two ponies, a white pegasus stallion and a navy-blue earth pony. Both were in their twenties and sat pondering the situation.

"Unicorn mage takes your earth pony," said the pegasus as he pushed his black unicorn diagonally across the black squares to take out the earth pony pawn. The earth pony scratched her white-grey mane for a moment, but wasn't bothered and moved her alicorn queen to protect her flank and apply pressure to her opponents flank.

As soon as the earth pony signaled that her turn was over, the pegasus smiled triumphantly, his light brown eyes filled with glee.

"I got you! My black alicorn queen takes your castle and checks your alicorn king! Checkmate!" laughed the pegasus. The other pony's eyes widened for a moment. Then, just as fast as it had widened, they narrowed. This was soon followed by a smile springing upon the pony's face.

"Uh, White Tower, what's so funny?" asked the pegasus. He was beginning to feel very nervous. With her blue hoof, White Tower pushed her white unicorn mage across the board. The unicorn travelled down the diagonal white squares, flying past pawns, knights and mages until it reached its destination.

"Oh no...No...Not again," groaned the pegasus. He ran his hoof through his messy golden hair as the unicorn mage took the alicorn queen and at the same time, removed the last barrier between the white alicorn queen and the black alicorn king. The end result, black was in check and had lost its queen.

"Silver-," began the earth pony. However, the pegasus met her with a warning glare, which caused the earth pony to stop.

"Barbican, what have I told you about looking before you leap?" asked White Tower. Lord Barbican, Knight of Equestria and former commanding officer of the 1st Royal Equestrian Lancers rolled his eyes.

"I did look White Tower, but I swear your unicorn came out of nowhere," groaned Barbican.

There was a knock on the study door and both ponies rose from their seats.

"Enter!" yelled Barbican in fine military fashion. A pegasus of the Royal Equestrian Guard Couriers pushed past the doors and entered into Barbican's study.

"Lord Barbican and his assistant Lady Tower?" asked the pegasus.

"Present, what is the message?" asked Barbican.

The pegasus used his mouth to take a scroll from his saddlebags and hand it to White Tower's outstretched hoof. As the courier was handing over the letter, his eyes suddenly widened as he glanced at Golden Tower's flank.

"Sir, if you are going to ask what I think you are going to ask. I suggest you do not," said White Tower, her eyes steely.

The courier gulped and dropped the scroll on White Tower's hoof.

"It is only for the eyes of you two," remarked the courier, with that he saluted and exited the study.

"For our eyes only?" said Barbican, a questioning frown on his features.

White Tower nodded, duplicating the frown of her master and friend, which grew as she examined the scroll's seal. The scroll was sealed with the Equestrian Royal Seal, held by Princess Celestia of Equestria and used to send documents of grave importance. Not pausing to ponder the matter any further, the mare laid it on the table, opened it and began to read.

To Lord Silver Shield Barbican, Knight of Equestria and Ret. Commanding Officer of the 1st Royal Equestrian Lancers and his assistant Lady White Tower, Ret. Major of the Royal Stalliongrad Militia and Member of the Order of Equestria, both of Stalliongrad.

My dear friends, our dear Princess Celestia has charged me with the task of organizing The Great Gathering of Artists and has bestowed upon me the Royal Equestrian Seal for the moment. As you may have heard, this gathering will be an unprecedented festival of arts, ranging from all types of media and many different styles. However, I am having difficulty with the layout of the festival's tents and facilities. Security and function is one of my greatest concerns and I cannot think of anypony more trustworthy and skilled than you two, for it is in your knowledge in defensive architecture that this task requires. If you do accept, please send a letter in response and come to the foot of Mount Canter as soon as you can. If you do not, please reply and I will try not to begrudge you.

From Duke Golden Tower of Trottingham, Royal Architect of Equestria and Headmaster of the Royal Academy of Architects, bestowed with the Royal Seal of Equestria.

When White Tower finished, she turned and didn't see her friend over her shoulder. When she looked over her other shoulder, she saw Barbican yanking out his old military-issue white leather saddlebag. Both saddlebags were marked with his cutie mark of a shield mounted on a stone wall.

"I take it we're going?" said White Tower.

"Yes. We don't have any other projects from any other nobles at the moment. The upgrades and repairs on Stalliongrad castle are in full swing and we don't need to be here. I'm tired of being cooped up in this chateau with nothing to do," laughed Barbican.

White Tower chuckled in reply, grabbed her saddlebags and began to pack. Other than scorch patterns which ran along the edges, the bags were plain and devoid of any mark. For, as the courier had noticed earlier, the earth pony did not have a cutie mark.

_Foot of Mount Canter, 1 month before The Great Gathering…_

Duke Golden Triangle put his hoof to his face. This was the second time somepony had set up the tents for the food venues in the wrong place. Once again the old pony checked the layout he, Lord Barbican and White Tower had come up with and chuckled.

"They really were the right ponies for the job." As soon as they had arrived, Lord Barbican and Lady Tower had quickly created a plan for the Gathering. Somehow, the two ponies managed to make sure all the venues were located in a reasonable location and at the same time, assure that each of them could be easily accessed, could be well protected and guarded, and easily evacuated in the event of an emergency. White Tower had even set up a schedule for the guard rotation so that they could safely patrol the entire site. It was quite a work of planning and design.

If Golden Triangle could pick two of the ponies that would be included in the group of architects, he would pick Lord Barbican and White Tower. He knew the two ponies had secrets and that both were quite adamant about keeping them, even from each other. However, they were extremely work-orientated, especially White Tower, who was a perfectionist.

As the duke got up from his chair, his face twisted into a grimace as his muscle s stretched, his joints popped and cracked. He had been putting off his weekly massage and was now paying for it.

"I'm getting old," groaned the duke. He trotted outside of his tent and gazed upon the site.

The Great Gathering of Artists had been laid out so that if you saw it from above, it would look like the sun cutie mark on Celestia's flank. Each of the 'sun's' 'flames' was a venue for a different type of art media. These included interior design, textiles, garden work, literature and calligraphy, masonry and then his own, architecture. Some of the ponies accepting invitations were going to be displaying artwork that was quite hard to categorize. One pony was submitting a gel castle that was delicious and at the same time, a great work of architecture and sculpting. The great circle area of the 'sun' was the 'sun's' centre was and location of the food venues and games for the younger ponies. At the very centre of the 'sun' was a grand common area, also where Celestia would be announcing her choices for who will design the capital.

Golden Triangle's idea of shaping the venue into a giant 'sun' had only been possible thanks to Lord Barbican and White Tower's placement and design of the individual stalls and paths. Along with the Duke's handling of the material and his experience of bureaucratic systems, the ponies had guaranteed that the gathering would happen right on schedule.

"Duke Golden Triangle, thy work is coming along nicely," said Celestia, alighting next to the unicorn. Slowly, his tendons shifting and popping, the unicorn began to turn to face his sovereign.

"Thank you milady. Forgive this loyal subject for not being able to bow, but our joints are a bit stiff," said the Duke with a wince. As he faced Celestia, the duke's wince turned into a groan and grimace.

"Baroness Vaultaire of Cloudsdale."

"Duke Golden Triangle, my old professor. How are you doing ol-…sir," said the pegasus, quickly correcting herself. The duke was not doing very well; in fact, he seemed to have aged ten years at Vaultaire's arrival. It didn't help that Vaultaire had just reminded Golden Triangle of his advanced years.

"Oh why this pegasus? The pegasus who defied my EVERY order in class. The pegasus who questioned and then discarded ALL forms of the architecture and mathematical theories we were trying to teach. The pegasus who almost got herself named as a traitor because she was not afraid to shut her mouth and not say what she shouldn't say. Don't tell me Celestia brought her along for this as well?" thought the duke.

"Duke, baroness, you two will be part of the group working on the new capital," said Celestia cheerfully. At this, Golden Triangle's heart almost jumped out of his chest. He was in complete disbelief and he couldn't help himself as he began to vent his frustration.

"But she never even completed her studies at the Royal Equestrian Academy of Architects! All her works have never been even close to the scale of what I will be trying to accomplish here! Also, this pegasus has absolutely no understanding of the bureaucratic system, a complete lack of respect for the intricacies and dangers of politics and she has zero influence in court as of now. Not to mention she had little in the first place! She cannot be part of this group milady, it will doom the project before we dig the first foundation!" protested the duke.

For a moment, the Golden Triangle swore he saw Vaultaire flinch, but fierceness of the look that she sent back at him made him doubt that she did.

"The ideas behind your design are old and out of date. Even if your ideas happen to be creative once in a while, the media and style you use to implement them clashes with the design or doesn't allow the idea to reach its full potential!" retorted Vaultaire.

Golden Triangle was about to fire back at his opponent, when Celestia stepped in between the two.

"Duke Golden Triangle and Baroness Vaultaire, cease this nonsense immediately! It is disgraceful for two of the most accomplished architects in Equestria to be arguing like this! Vaultaire, go to my tent, I will speak to you on this subject later," said Celestia. Even without the alicorn's regal and imposing voice, Vaultaire understood that there was to be no argument and left.

"I'm sorry Duke, but I believe that Vaultaire would be an invaluable addition to this project's management," explained Celestia. The elderly duke nodded, his head hanging low and his brow wrinkled.

"I understand. But milady, can you please answer a question for me?" asked Golden Triangle, his head still hanging down low. The princess nodded, concern written on her expression. Golden Triangle may not have been as dear to the princess as Vaultaire, but the alicorn had great respect for the pony as he had accomplished many things in his long years of service to Equestria.

"Is my architecture getting...old?" asked the unicorn stallion.

The princess's eyes grew distant as she lowered her head to the unicorn's eye level.

"Everything will become old my little pony, including your style of architecture and the monuments you have built. What you design now will eventually be lost to the winds of time," said Celestia. The unicorn sighed and despite his hesitation, pressed onward.

"Princess, I do not mind if my body or my architecture becomes old and superseded by all these young ideas and ponies. Allow me to clarify my question. Has the quality of my work degraded to the point that it is obsolete? Has my work become dated to the point that it is not even classic, but unfashionable? Have I shown you any results that overwhelm you and not just please you?"

A small part of the duke wanted Celestia to shake her head immediately or say 'no' in that serene, regal voice of hers. However, what came was partially expected. For a dark part of his mind had always told him this. It whispered to him whenever his joints protested. It rasped when his hooves shook involuntarily. It giggled to him when he attempted to perform magic. He knew it was true, but he wouldn't allow himself to believe it.

"My loyal little pony, we will not lie to you. The quality of your work has degraded. Your ideas and the results they produce are not obsolete, but they are dated and unfashionable. In the past decade, you have not produced any work that has managed to overwhelm or surprise us. We are very sorry about this truth Golden Triangle, although we cannot completely understand your position."

As Celestia finished giving her answer, Golden Triangle almost felt as if he was going to fall over and dive into everlasting sleep. To the grief-struck unicorn's own surprise, he just stood there, head lowered, greying blue mane and tail shivering slightly.

"Why did you choose me for this project then?" asked the unicorn. Celestia's answer came quickly, filled with inspiration and yet honest. It blared like a trumpet, lifting the unicorn out from his misery.

"Just because you have become old and have difficulty practicing your craft does not mean you are useless. Although we highly admire Vaultaire's abilities, she is like a pony in a pack of timberwolves when it comes to politics. But you...you completely understand the politics involving the inception and construction of a structure. Also, having worked on countless of projects, you have acquired experience that prepares you for the situations and mishaps that are bound to happen during this grand endeavour. Additionally, who was it that organized this gathering in less than a year? Your skills are still needed my little pony. So in your final hour, when all hope seems lost, make your star shine one last time so that its glare can be seen all across Equestria!"

The speech's effect on Golden Triangle was instantaneous. His head had been raised. The dull, glassy, golden eyes were once again twinkling with luster. A determined grin was set in the stallion's jaw. The pony still looked aged and stiff, but was now standing tall.

"Milady, thank you." And with that, the pony bowed and galloped back to his tent. His fire reignited and his determination stronger than ever.

Author's Additional Note: One more chapter and I'll be done with the introductions to my OCs.


	4. Meet the Great Minds of Canterlot Part 3

_On a road somewhere in Equestria, a week before The Great Gathering…_

At a crossroads, one of the many in Equestria, the earth pony Spire, once known as Byzas, peered closely at his map of Equestria, which he had placed on the ground.

Over the past months, Byzas had been living under a false identity in order to create a new life for himself. To make sure nopony recognized him, the pony had done several things. First of all, he dyed his coat maroon, covering up his rare sandstone-red coloration. He then had modified his cutie mark, visually anyway. With a bit of paint, he had turned the ruler on his flank into a charcoal stick and turned his thin, 'round' shaped paint brush into a larger varnish brush with rectangular head. Of course he had to renew his paint once every few days, but his disguise was complete. Instead of Byzas, court-artist, he was Spire, lowly, travelling, painter pony.

Some ponies might call Byzas's new occupation a fall from grace. However, the pony had never thought about it that way. Before he had been the Night Court's Artist, Byzas had been the lowly painter pony that was now Spire. The earth pony had despaired that he had lost his title, all the perks that came with it, and the castle he had loved. However, Byzas viewed his new job as a return to his roots and thus, was not undone by his loss.

And the pony was good at his new job. Renovation and construction work were in high demand in the aftermath of the destruction brought forth by the war. Byzas had found plenty of work and had made more than enough bits to feed himself. There was a drawback to this new job though. There was absolutely no challenge involved. The artist who had once been challenged to produce new and dynamic pieces was stuck with menial work that was now beneath his skills.

So, when Byzas had heard of The Great Gathering of Artists, where he would be able to admire new works of art and display some of his own, he had packed his saddlebags and started galloping.

Now a week away from the opening of the event, Byzas was stuck at the crossroad. The pony was peering so closely at his map that he didn't see of the cloud of dust closing rapidly. Neither did he notice the warning that had been shouted.

The various belongings of the two ponies that had collided went flying. Byzas in particular flew quite far. With a loud "OOFF!" the baron-in-disguise went head over heels and landed back side up and head upside down.

"Did a chariot hit me?" groaned Byzas, speaking slowly for once.

"Do I look like a chariot? And how can a chariot yell 'Get out of the way'?" replied a sarcastic voice.

When the pony opened his eyes, what he saw out of his inverted vision replaced his annoyance at being hit with curiosity. What Byzas saw was a chuckling earth pony stallion hitched to a two wheeled cart with a canvas tarpaulin covering it. The pony had a coat the shade and colour of dry sun-baked sand, his blonde mane was held back by a headscarf. As he rolled over picked and himself up, Byzas noticed the pony's cutie mark was what looked like interlocked gears overlaying a cam.

"I' .MynameisSpire" said Byzas.

"Say wha?" asked the other pony. Byzas took a deep breath and repeated his introduction again, slower. His speed-talking was something that had dogged the pony throughout his life. None of the doctors or practitioners he had visited could offer any suggestions.

"No problem! I'm Sa'id. Where were you headed Spire?" inquired the sandy colored stallion.

"TheGreatGathering...Sorry, I'm heading to the Great Gathering of Artists. I am a painter as you can see and I wanted to get away from renovation work and see some artwork for a change," said Byzas honestly.

"Ah! What a strange coincidence! I'm heading to The Great Gathering as well! I heard about it from my home in the Southern Equestrian Deserts," explained Sa'id.

"So that's why he has a headscarf and that explains his coloration. Wow...He travelled far! Wonder why he is going to the Great Gathering?" thought Byzas. He asked the question and Sa'id smiled brightly and gestured to his cutie mark.

"I'm an inventor! My talent is in mechanics and understanding how things move! I design devices that perform specific tasks," explained Sa'id.

"Whatsortof-. Sorry, what sort of devices?" asked Byzas.

"Well, you know how difficult it is for a single pony to unhitch himself from a cart right?"

The maroon colored pony nodded and without another word, the sandy-yellow pony kicked a small lever on his cart by his left hoof. The leather straps loosened and the arms of the cart dropped to the ground.

"Surprised?" asked Sa'id. The astounded look on Byzas's face said it all.

"Simple really, the lever is hooked up to a rope that runs along the arms of the cart to the leather straps binding-,"

As Sa'id began to explain the complexities of his invention to Byzas, the two were packing up their dropped items. When they had finished, Sa'id had a suggestion.

"Say, why don't we travel together? We'll be travelling along the same path anyway! It'll be fun!" said Sa'id with a great enthusiastic grin plastered upon his face.

Byzas was apprehensive, but only for a moment. Having been without company for weeks, the disguised pony was eager for a travelling companion. Besides, Sa'id's cheerfulness and enthusiasm was infectious.

The two found the right route using Byzas's path and a weird, but very useful object of Sa'id's called 'a compass' that somehow showed where North was. The two stallions then began trotting down the path, exchanging stories.

Within minutes, one could hear the strains of laughter as the new friends continued down the road to their great destiny.

_Foot of Mount Canter, The venue of The Great Gathering, The day before The Great Gathering…_

It was the day before The Great Gathering. Many of the stalls had been rented out by artists and craftsmen wishing to display their work. The air was filled with a cacophony of neighs and whinnies.

In the glass section of the Gathering, hundreds of works of delicate artwork were being set up. It was a beautiful sight, as the bright light of the sun twinkled and shimmered off many vases, panes of stained glass and glass sculptures that were being displayed.

One particular tent, a green one had products that especially shone. Most of the works that were propped up on the table were stained glass windows and they were masterpieces. The stained glass had been composed in a symphony of colour and elegance. The notes of light that shone through these windows revealed the images of heroic ponies on great adventures, of the majestic princesses soaring through the sky and of ponies playing, laughing and frolicking on the grass.

As Chartres slightly adjusted the angle of a pane, the ivory white unicorn mare gave a tired smile as she reveled in the beauty of her creations. Unfortunately, her contemplation was short lived.

"CHARTRES! Close up the tent before somepony steals my work! Then come to the back!" roared an angry voice. A resigned sigh sounded from the unicorn as she closed the tent up, shadowing the beautiful glass creations, her works. Walking deeper towards the rear of the tent, Chartres lifted her head up to see the pitiless face of her mistress, Glassy Hoof.

At first glance, anypony would think Glassy Hoof was a greedy and jealous pony. From the glint in her stingy squinting eyes to the greedy twitch of her mouth, she screamed greedy and jealous.' Her coat was of medicine yellow and her curled mane of grape-purple. Although both were well kept, the combination was still ugly. The unicorn had an ample flank that was adorned by a cutie mark of a glass chalice. Some ponies say that one should not judge a book by its cover. For Glassy Hoof, one should, for her looks told the truth.

"Sparkle my mane Chartres!" ordered Glassy Hoof. Chartres blanched whiter than her ivory coat.

"But mistress! I had to use my magic to complete those pieces. I don't know if I have any left!" gasped the unicorn. The yellow unicorn's expression didn't shift and Chartres blinked back her tears as she concentrated on her horn.

Blue sparks spluttered and stuttered, but no sparkles appeared on Glassy's mane. By that time, the ivory unicorn had collapsed, her unkempt blue mane for which she was named after was drenched in sweat and her tail flopped down almost lifelessly against the ground.

"Since you won't sparkle my mane, you won't get to stay for The Great Gathering. Begone with you!" ordered Glassy. At this, the fallen unicorn sprang up, despair creased across her exhausted features.

"No! Please, anything, but tha-,"

A perfectly manicured hoof slapped Chartres and another almost unbalanced her. Pain exploding across her cheek, Chartres blinked back tears of pain as Glassy advanced.

"Quiet you peasant. You still have at least five hundred bits left to pay me back. What will selling that scrap glass of yours do to your debt? Of course I realized you were making your own piece. I just didn't worry about it because it was so worthless," said Glassy with a derisive snort. The other unicorn whimpered, grabbed her sackcloth saddlebags and left.

How long Chartres ran, she didn't know. What she did know is that she found herself in the sculptors' area. The featured piece, a great statue of Princess Celestia stood towering over the lonely unicorn. The sculptor for this particular statue had decided that the princess would look better if she had a gentler expression instead of the usual regal look.

It was the kinder, heart-warming features of the statue that had broke the dam holding back Chartres's despair. The dam of what little pride and hope the unicorn had left, shattered like a glass hitting cobbled stone. Tears flowed like a torrent of melt water in the spring as Chartres cried.

"She's taking MY WORK. MY glass! MY magic! And I can't do ANYTHING about it," sobbed Chartres. Sinking down against the statue of Princess Celestia, the unicorn pulled a piece of stained glass from her saddlebag. The arrangement of the glass seemed random. The shards and sections clashed and intermingled with each other. The lead strips binding the piece together seemed to be the only thing holding the glass in any form of semblance.

"You are my only hope," said Chartres gazing at the mosaic of colour. Still clutching the pane, the tired and dejected unicorn fell into a restless sleep.

Author's notes and further news: Sa'id, although from a different area is probably the most normal of all the ponies. Reason I created him. I need a more normal pony, one not hiding anything like everypony else XD

One more thing, I sound like a broken record, but can you please find this story on fimfiction and press the thumbs up button? It's not too much, but it'll hopefully garner more attention for the story.

Additionally, please recommend any good proofreaders to me or let me know if you find any mistakes or questionable character development within the story.


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